The New York City Police Department has adopted a stop and frisk program to ensure pedestrian safety and security of the entire city. Stop and frisk is a practice in which police officers stop and question hundreds of thousands of pedestrians each year and search them for weapons and other contraband. Those carrying weapons or illegal substances are placed under arrest, taken to the police station for arrest and, if necessary, summoned to appear before a judge at a later date. The NYPD's stop and frisk rules are based on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Terry v. Ohio. The Terry v. Ohio has ruled that searches and seizures, under the Fourth Amendment, are not violated when a police officer stops a suspect on the street and searches him without probable cause for arrest. If the officer has “reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime” and has a reasonable belief that the person “may be armed and currently dangerous,” an arrest is warranted. (Terry v. Ohio, 392 US 1, p. 30). Although the stop and frisk program ultimately seems like a great idea and will help New York City residents feel safer on the streets, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the program. The issue of racial profiling is widely discussed when discussing the NYPD's stop and frisk program. In addition to police targeting low-income neighborhoods, the stops concern more African-Americans or Latinos than whites. These checks often result in a higher arrest rate. arrested last year, 92% were male and 87% were African American or Latino (Devereaux, 2012). When an officer arrests a person in New York, the officer...... middle of paper ...... using the program I think Bill de Blasio, who is preparing to take the mayor's seat Bloomberg as Mayor of New York City has the right idea when it comes to the New York City Police Department's stop and frisk program. Not only does he plan to completely revamp the stop and frisk program, but he also plans to focus on making the program "racially colorblind." Although making a criminal justice system program "colorblind" is not an easy concept, many regulations can be adopted to help ensure equality when searching for a precinct and executing a stop and search of New York civilians. The new policy may include regulations that require a higher form of discretion to be used when arresting a person. For example, trying to overlook the person's race and focus more on where they come from, how they behave, and/or who they surround themselves with...